METRO SKIM – IDENTIFYING POSSIBILITIES – 6DIMENSIONS

Metro Skim’s substantial EP, the second release on Steve Bicknell’s new 6dimensions label, lets technology take an iron grip on the music. Yet although there are a lot of processes here, there is much to make you move in a human sense, and a warmth that runs through the seven tracks. From the quick, dizzying analogue patterns of ‘Awareness’, held together by a single note, and the musical whirlpool that is ‘Lost In It’, there is a lot going on here! ‘From 3D Into 5th’ is similarly energetic, with its whirling figures and crisp, nagging hi hats, the rhythm dropping out altogether at the end. At the other end of the spectrum, ‘Unconsciousness’, though it moves quickly up above, has a slow and stately feel to it down below, while ‘Inner Resistance’ sounds like the toll of cosmic bells. The most extreme in terms of pitch is left until last and the exploratory ‘Into Imbalance’, which completes an enjoyable and highly varied voyage of contemporary techno with a warm, traditional base.